8 Days!!

The Proposal

Her Side

Dan and I rushed through our finals quickly back in April 2011 so that we could leave early to spend some time getting to know Dan's parents in AZ. Wednesday, April 20th, we headed out at 5am on our 9 hour trek... I had ZERO idea I would later be getting proposed to by my best friend.
Dan, his brother and I were driving back to his place that night when Dan nonchallently asked me if I wanted to drive around and see his old 'stomping ground'. Steve (his brother) said he didn't want to join so Dan dropped him off and Dan and I drove around his old hometown. It was fun seeing everywhere he grew up! After the tour, he told me there was one more place he wanted to show me. For a split second I thought he might be popping the question but I ruled that out because the timeline didn't make much sense! We had just barely gone ring looking, and had just finished finals, just finished a long long long drive...
Anyways! We ended up back at Dan's house and he parked the car. I was slightly confused because I thought he said we were going one more place and yet we were back where we started. I got out of the car and with a look of stress Dan told me he had forgotten his keys so we would need to go around the back.
We walked through the back gate alongside the side of the house and Dan told me a funny story about him hiding back here and scaring his sister from the window. It was that point where I had completely ruled out the idea of Dan asking me to marry him, and yet as soon as I rounded the corner of the house into the backyard, I saw a table with roses and candles and a box.
I looked at Dan, and he was smiling and he grabbed me by the hand and walked me over. I was too shocked for words, so excited that I didn't even cry, and watched as Dan went down on his knee and asked me to marry him.
It was just perfect. I love you Dan!

The Proposal

His Side

As the end of the semester approached Lauren had plans to go home to Chicago to visit her family, but we still wanted to go to Arizona so she could meet my family. So we decided to hurry through finals and drive to Az. My brother, Lauren, and I had a lot of fun driving and trying not to get lost with her tomtom GPS. Actually I can't remember if we used that because she says I don't like it haha. But, we made it to AZ and she met my family. We spent some time for her to get to know my family and they enjoyed meeting her. A few days earlier I had picked up her ring and had it sent to AZ to be waiting there for when we arrived. Good thing, because if I had the ring those last days before we left it would have been burning a hole in my pocket! At the end of the evening we dropped my brother off at home and just she and I went around town and I showed her the places I grew up. You know, schools, and hang out spots, and other places, but not too many because I wanted to get to the last place! After we had seen a few places I said that I had one last place. So I drove home and we got out of the car. I made up a little lie, my cunning wit on the spot haha, and told her that I didn't have a key so we would have to go through the back gate. As we walked I told her a quick story about scarring my sister through a window, really I did it just because I was so nervous. Then we walked around the corner and she saw the table, roses, candles, and ring box. We walked over and I got down on one key and said the most romantic things I could say while my hands were shaking haha. I asked the love of my life to marry me, she said yes!! and then she reminded me to put the ring on her finger haha! I felt pretty proud snatching up such and incredible girl!

19 Days to Go!

I cannot believe how quickly the time has gone! Only 19 more days to go! Be sure to take a look at our wedding website and RSVP if you haven't already!
http://www.mywedding.com/danandlaur/

First Date

Her Side

I was sitting in class at 10am when my phone rang. I glanced down and saw an unknown number calling. I decided to leave the classroom and answer it, hoping that it would be someone from the Bishopric to give me a calling but instead it was Dan asking me out for a date that weekend! Or was it really a date? He had never made it that clear. I called my mom right after class for her advice because I really didn't know if it was a date or just a group hang out!!

It was, hands down, the best first date I have ever been on. (and yes, it was a date) Dan and I had so much chemistry right from the get go! We went to Thanksgiving Point and went to the corn maze. We played tether ball, lassoed a saddle, bounced around on this huge inflatable pumpkin, walked through an inflatable dinosaur body, raced around on tractors, and got lost in the corn maze (we cheated to get back to the start). I wanted to grab his hand but was too nervous haha. My favorite moment though and one that stands out was when we were sitting on a giant cobweb across from each other, and the way he was looking at me, and the butterflies in my stomach, just got me thinking 'oh my goodness, this guy is just want I have been looking for!'
I had such a blast with Dan, i didn't want that night to end... from then on, I was hooked.

Our First Date

His Side

Wednesday morning, after class, I walked home and decided it was time to call that mega hottie I had once seen. I grabbed the ward directory and gave her a call. She picked up and I asked "are you in class?", she lied and said "no". I mentioned to her that there was a corn maze at Thanksgiving Point, and asked if she would like to go. She lied and said "yes", really what she meant was "I've been dreaming of this moment all my life".
Friday finally came and we were off to the corn maze. After I paid for her ticket, she finally realized it was a date, and that we were not just hanging out. We grabbed a map and started looking around the grounds. As we walked through the corn maze I remember her telling me about the "mom job" that she wanted to have. She told me that she wanted to be a dental hygienist because it has flexible hours and is easy to maintain with kids in school. I remember thinking that she was a really incredible girl. After the corn maze we did all kinds of other things. We roped cattle, and went into a spooky maze, we sat in a big rocking chair together, and talked so easily together. I remember hoping that she and I would some how end up in a corner together while in the dark spooky maze haha. We spent the whole night talking and having so much fun together. Towards the end of the night I remember sitting on a playground spider web thing with my brother and his date and we were all just talking. It was there as I sat across from her that I really saw how special she was. That might have been our moment haha! The date was long and I was worried she was going to think it was too long, but I was just having so much fun with her. Also, on the way to the corn maze and on the way home we listened to the greatest band called, "Imagine Dragons". One of their songs called, "Tokyo" is now one of our wedding songs. After I dropped her off that night I knew I wanted to get to know that amazing girl more!

My Taylor Swift Updo

Sunday I made my first attempt at an updo. I have been looking at TONS of wedding updo pictures and felt really inspired to give it a try (especially after Dan told me he likes it when I pull my hair up, and he also likes a lot of the messy sort of updos i've been showing him).
Anyways, I woke up this morning at 6:45 (my body has already adapted to hygiene school hour) and couldn't fall asleep, so i just started watching 'how-to updo' videos on youtube.
Found this one:

watched it a couple times, then set out to try it myself.
I sunk a lot of time just trying to get it started, and it got to the point where there was no turning back to just a normal hairstyle because then I'd need to reshower... so i stacked up all our chairs in the bathroom, put a mirror on top so i could see what i was doing in the back, and then just started sticking bobby pin after bobby pin.
But you know what, pretty soon the whole style took shape and i was loving the result! i can't wait to try it again and other fun hairstyles. Heres a pic of the back, wish i had take a few more of the sides and front but i didn't.

Stoned.

Last tuesday, Dan and I set off up the canyon to collect logs to make our candlestick holders for our wedding. As we were up there, I started to feel really weird. My lower back was hurting and I was feeling really lightheaded and nauseated so I sat down at a picnic table to figure out what the heck was wrong! The pain started getting worse and worse in my lower back so Dan helped me get back in the car and we drove to an urgent care in provo.
The pain continued getting worse and worse as we drove, but as if by magic, by the time we got to the urgent care, I suddenly felt completely better and was embarrassed, thinking that I had made up that pain, so I told Dan that I wanted to go and not waste the doctor's time.
We carried on with our day activities and finished our candle stick holders (which look amazing!). As we were doing that though i started feeling crapy and realized that this isn't normal. I had Dan take me back to the urgent care (felt bad, he had to drive me all over), saw the doctor and he told me that I have kidney stones. Kidney stones?? I had to get a CT scan just to be sure and yep, I had a kidney stone.  (and i threw up all over the hospital parking lot... i think i killed the grass in 3 different spots)
The doctor told me that it was small enough to be able to pass it on my own. Gave me some painkillers and a prostate relaxer (yah i know.... it was supposed to help) and sent me on my way.
For the next few days I put up with the waves of pain. Jana would come over every night so I wouldn't be alone, which was great of her.  And I just waited around to pass the stone...

By the time Sunday came, I was really not feeling well. I could barely move, no matter how I sat or laid or stood my back was in agonizing pain. Every time I got up to use the bathroom (and use my funnel-strainer) would end with me throwing up...  I didn't make it to church, instead i made it to the ER.
Dan drove me, checked in, got shot up with morphine (which still wasnt strong enough to even budge the pain), had an ultrasound (also i made a funny joke and had dan text my mom saying that it wasn't kidney stones, it was actually just morning sickness ...she didn't find that funny), and also got put into my own hospital room with a magic button that i could press every ten minutes to get dilaudid (a pain killer 10x stronger than morphine).

This is me getting rolled away to my room, thank you dan for taking this lovely picture.

Monday morning the doctor came in and told me that stupid kidney stone hadn't moved at all since I had the CT scan and that was causing lots of problems so he said he wanted to preform a uteroscopic kidney stone removal. They knocked me out, and when I woke up, I had a nurse standing right there holding a bucket in my face trying to get me to look at my 3mm stone. I remember thinking, get that out of my face. (anesthesia makes me grouchy)

That little dot caused SO much agony.

Dan and Jana were in my room when I got back up to my room. Pain was gone. And then I spent the rest of that day and the next recovering in the hospital. My mom had such a kick telling everyone i gave birth to a 3mm stone named "Spike" lol. My dad also joked around sent me a text asking if he'll grow up to be a "hockey player, or just the puck?"

Hahaha me right after surgery.

My first time getting to eat in 24 hours!!

So so happy (and hungry)

A stent was left in me to avoid infection... and having that removed was not a very "fun" experience either, but ever since then i feel great.

So, that is what we have been up to. As of this moment, I feel a million times better, and getting better each day. I still cannot believe I had a kidney stone.